Mechanical golf ball projector



S. A. ANTHONY MECHANICAL GOLF BALL PROJECTOR Sept. 26, 1950 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 23. 1946 5mm?! 4. A rzthony,

Sept. 26, 1950 s. A. ANTHONY MECHANICAL GOLF BALL PROJECTOR 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 23, 1946 I uueutor Jar/we! ,4. Anzizazzy,

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MECHANICAL GOLF BALL PROJECTOR Filed Aug. 23, 1946 l 3 Sheets-Sheet Ilive/1 tor Samuel 4. 4rzZ/z0rg u,

nameys Patented Sept. 26, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,523,805MECHANICALGOLF BALLrnoJE-o'roR 7 Samuel A. Anthony, Tucson, Ariz.Application August 23, 1946, Serial No. 692,475 7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in mechanical golfing devices forprojecting golf balls.

An object of theinvention is to providean improved mechanical golfingdevice for shooting a golf ball when playing golf rather than usingregulation gOlf sticks.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved wheeledmechanical golfing device which will include a compressible springmechanism for projecting a ball to simulate driving when playing golf.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved springoperated golf ball projecting device which may be variably tensioned toshoot a golf ball varying distances from one place to another, as, forexample, from a driving tee to a golf course green.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved, mechanicallycompressed spring mechanism for projecting a golf ball, said mechanismbeing provided with an improved cocking trigger device whereby the samemay be released upon the operation thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved mechanicalgolf ball driving device which will be highly efficient in operation,and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and produce.

Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this application,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved mechanical golf device;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the improved'mechanical golf device;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an end elevational View looking from the right of Figure 3;I

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5-6 of Figure3;

Figure 7 is a rear view of the improved mechanical golf device; and

Figure'8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8--8 of Figure 1.

Like characters of reference are used throughout the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings to designate correspondingparts.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided a pair of supportingwheels I and 2, the same being suitably mounted inthe forks 3 and 4,which are open at their upper ends and are adapted to support theinverted U-shape frame member 5 with its oppositely disposed dependingarms 6 and 1 telescopically received within the open ends of the saidforks 3 and '4, and held in the desired vertically adjusted positions bymeans.

of the bolts and win nuts 8 and 9. The transversely extending bracingarm [0 is connected between the opposite side arms 6 and I and isarranged in spaced position below the said upper arm 5 and extendsparallel therewith.

The housin H is supported upon the transversely extending arms 5 and II], and supports the elevating pinion l2 upon a transversely mountedshaft therein, which, in turn, supports the crank handle 13 on its outerextremity. The vertically extending rack bar I4 is disposed in avertical slot formed through the housing II and supports the springprojecting gun mechanism upon the cross pivot pins l5 at the lower endof said rack bar I l.

The barrel I 6 of the device is supported by means of the spaced bandsor yokes l1 and I8 which are secured about the same, and extend upwardlytherefrom, and are connected by means of the connecting arm l9 disposedabove said barrel l6 and in spaced relation thereto. A pulley 2B ismounted transversely at the forward end of said connecting arm betweenthe same and said barrel I 6, while the rear pulley 2| is supported atthe rear end of the said connecting arm IQ for purposes hereinafterdescribed.

The barrel I6 is tubular in shape, and is internally threaded at itsrear end, as at 22, and is adapted to receive the externally threadedrear closure member 23, as clearly shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. Acylindrical hard wood guide 24 is mounted in the forward end of thebarrel l6, and is supported therein by the screws 25 extending throughsaid barrel and into said guide. The opposite ends of the hard woodguide '24 are flared so that the head member 26 on the forward end ofthe golf ball projecting rod 21 will slide within the hollow borethrough said guide. The rear end of the rod 2'! is threaded to receivethe bearing disk 28, which is threaded thereon. A second bearing disk 29is loosely mounted upon the rod 21 forwardly of the bearing disk 28, andserves with said bearing disk 28 to limit the position of the cushioningspring 30 disposed about said rod 21, to take up the impact of the rodas it is projected forwardlyat a high rate of speed to drive the golfball 31 which will be supported upon the rubber tee '32 on the arm 33which is pivotally supported at the forward end of the arm 34 whose rearend is pivoted at 35 to the lug 36 on the lower portion of said barrel16.

A trigger bracket 38 is provided which slides over the surface of thebarrel Iii. The trigger bracket 38 is provided with the forwardlyextending, oppositely disposed arms 39, in which the vertical shafts 4Bare mountedfor rotary movement. The rearwardly extending links 4| aresecured to the vertical shafts 40 and are mounted in slots in thetransversely adjustable trigger members or keepers 42, which normallyextend inwardly through the slots 46 in the barrel I6 directly in frontof the rear bearing disk 28 so that movement to the rear being had bythe trigger member 42 will cause the bearing disk 28 to move rearwardlyalso to compress the powerful coil spring 43 disposed between the rearsurface of the bearing disk 28 and the rear closure member 23,. Theinwardly directed trigger arms M will be secured to the upper ends ofthe vertical shaft i and will be tied together by means of the link 45,in such a manner that when the arms 44 are moved rearwardly, the triggerkeepers or members 42 will move outwardly from the sides of the barrelto release the bearing disk 23 on the rear end of the projecting rod 21,thereby permitting the same to be projected at a high rate of speed tothe forward end of the barrel, at which time the cushioning spring 30will act as a shock absorber to take care of the shock incident to theforward movement of said rod.

The reel 4'. will be provided with a hand operating crank 48, and saidreel will be supported above the rear end of the barrel Is by means ofthe U-shape clip 49 secured to said barrel.

The inverted V-shape casing 50 will be supported by the clamping member5| about the barrel :6 slightly forward of the reel 41, and will supportthe pulley 52 in its upper end, and will be provided with the aperture53 through which the trigger actuating cable 54 will extend. Opposedpulleys 55 and 55 will be supported respectively 0n the front and rearof the casing 50 to support the said trigger actuating cable 54 in amanner later to be described. The trigger lever 5'! will be pivoted at58 to the casing 50 and will be provided with the arm 59, which will beconnected by the link or arm 60 to the bell crank lever B! pivoted at 62in the casing 50. A rod 63 will be secured to the lower arm of the bellcrank lever 5! and will support the sheave 54 which will be disposedbelow the trigger cable 54 and in contact therewith, whereby, when saidtrigger lever 5? is pulled rearwardly, the associated linkage will causethe sheave 64 to move upwardly to pull backward upon the triggeractuating cable 54, which movement will be transmitted through the cable54 which is connected to the link 45 so as to move the trigger arms 44rearwardly, thereby moving the trigger keepers or members 42 outwardlyto release the golf ball projecting rod. A coil spring 65 will bedisposed in the trigger actuating cable line 54 to allow a small amountof expansion in the otherwise taut trigger actuating cable.

The setting cable 66 will be secured to the eyes 61 in the rear of thetrigger bracket member 38, and will be secured to the reel so thatrotation of the operating crank 48 will pull backwards upon the triggerbracket member 38 until it reaches the desired position to project theball the necessary distance. If desired, the trigger keeper or bracketmember 38 may be pulled all the way back until it reaches the rear endof the oppositely disposed slots 46 through the sides of the barrel IS.

The trigger cable 54 will be secured to the forward end of theturnbuckle 69 and will then be connected to the link 45, and from thenceit will be connected to the coil spring 65 and about the forward pulley26 and rearwardly under the pulley 2| and through the aperture 53 toextend over the pulley 52 and will be wound two turns about the reel 4'!and from thence underthe pulley 56,

4 over the sheave B4 and under the pulley 55 and back to the rear end ofthe turnbuckle 69.

The handle arm 10 will be supported upon the rear end of the barrel l6,and will be bent upwardly and rearwardly therefrom, terminating in thehand-grip portion H, whereby said device may be pulled from place toplace, or may be sighted when getting ready to project the golf ball.

The rearwardiy extending telescoping brace rods 12 will be connected attheir forward ends to the frame-of the device, and will be connected attheir rear ends to the ears l4 secured to the opposite sides of saidbarre1 [6. Suitable locking wing nuts 15 will extend through the bracerods 12 to clamp the smaller brace rod 13 telescopically received withinthe same, in the desired ad justed position.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the improvedmechanical golfing device may be readily transported from place to placeby means of the handle arm l8 and hand-grip portion 1 I. After actuatingthe trigger 57 to remove the keepers 42 from the path of bearing disk 28and project the ball, the operator manually slides the bracket 38 overthe gun barrel to a position ahead of the bearing disk 28, all the timemaintaining a pressure on trigger 51 to prevent keepers 42 from catchingon the coils of the expanded projecting spring. It will also be seenthat the barrel may be elevated vertically for projecting the ball afurther distance, and that the device may be turned laterally from sideto side on its supporting wheels I and 2.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that there has beenprovided a highly efiicient form of mechanical golfing device which maybe operated by one man to project or shoot a golf ball a great distance,and that the distance may be gauged by means of varying the compressionupon the spring 43.

While the preferred embodiment of the instant invention has beenillustrated and described, it will be understood that it is not intendedto limit the scope of the invention thereto, as many minor changes indetail of construction may be resorted to without departure from thespirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1-. In combination with a mechanical golfing device including a wheeledframe, a barrel supported thereon, a projecting spring in said barrel,and a golf ball supporting tee mounted at the forward end thereof,longitudinal slots in said barrel, a trigger bracket slidable on saidbarrel, a disk slidable in said barrel, a golf ball projecting rodcarried by said disk, movable keepers slidable in said slots adapted toengage said disk. means secured to said bracket engaging said keepers,and means secured to said bracket and operatively connected to saidkeeper-engaging means for laterally moving said keepers out ofengagement with said disk to actuate the device.

2. In combination with a mechanical golfing device including a wheeledframe, a barrel supported thereon, a projecting spring in said barrel,and a golf ball supporting tee mounted at the forward end thereof,longitudinal slots in said barrel, a trigger bracket slidable on saidbarrel, a disk slidable in said barrel, a golf ball projecting rodcarried by said disk, movable keepers slidable in said slots and adaptedto engage said disk, link means pivotally secured in said bracket andengaging said keepers, trigger arms operatively connected to said linkmeans, and means operatively connected to said trigger arms foractuating said trigger arms and thereby pivoting said link means torelease said disk.

3. In combination with a mechanical golfing device including a wheeledframe, a barrel supported thereon, a projectin spring in said barrel,and a golf ball supporting tee mounted at the forward end thereof,longitudinal slots in said barrel, a trigger bracket slidable on saidbarrel, a disk slidable in said barrel, a golf ball projecting rodcarried by said disk, movable keepers slidable in said slots and adaptedto engage said disk, vertical shafts rotatably mounted in said bracket,link means secured to said shafts and engaging said keepers, triggerarms connected to said shafts, means joining said trigger arms, a reelmounted on said device and means rotatable on said reel and secured tosaid joining means to actuate said trigger arms and thereby pivot saidlink means to release said disk.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said reel includes a drum, meansmounting said drum on said barrel, cable means secured to said bracketand rotatable on said drum, separate cable means secured to said triggerarms and wound about said drum, and means to operate said drum toretract said bracket and said disk.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said last-named cable meansincludes a coil spring and a plurality of rollers mounted on said barreland around which said last-named cable means travels.

SAMUEL A. ANTHONY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

qNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 179,526 Curtiss July 4, 1876970,018 Coleman Sept. 13, 1910 1,076,125 Kilgore Oct. 21, 1913 1,094,725Lang Apr. 28, 1914 1,260,633 Burgher Mar. 26, 1918 1,342,357 SpencerJune 1, 1920 1,379,126 Reppe May 24, 1921 2,130,050 Walters Sept. 13,1938 2,194,016 Geller Mar. 19, 1940 2,218,045 Martelluci Oct. 15, 19402,238,504 Pearson Apr. 15, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date97,554 Germany June 21, 1898 433,122 Great Britain Aug. 9, 1935

